Page 119 of Hello Billionaire

“Gage,” Mom called out.

But Dad snapped, “Let him go.” Then he raised his voice so I was sure to hear him. “Have fun chasing your money. See how far that gets you.”

“Fuck you,” I bellowed back. I got in my truck and slammed it into gear, peeling away from my home.

Away from my family.

And my mom? She let me go.

My dad? He never called.

And me? I never stopped trying to prove him wrong.

But the problem was... even now, all these years later... I still worried he had been right.

54

Mia

On Monday morning, Farrah called my private cell. Her voice was raw as she said, “Hey, I’m not feeling well. I’m going to have to call in. I’m not sure how this works, since I haven’t taken a day off since the big office move, but someone’s going to need to let the furniture guys in and make sure they actually take their trash out today.”

How was she focusing on work if she felt half as bad as she sounded? “What do you have?” I asked, leaning over my desk. “You sound like shit.”

Gage walked past my desk, keeping his gaze straight ahead and going into his office.

“Loverboy just walked into work, by the way,” I said. “Did he ask you to call me about this? He seems pretty hands on with The Retreat. Although we both know why,” I teased.

She made a sniffling sound. “I figured you’d be handling the details anyway. Will you let him know? I’m just going to hole up today and hope I feel better.”

“Sure thing. Do you want me to bring you something after work? I can ask my mom to make her chicken soup.”

“I’m good. Talk to you soon.” Her voice broke on the last word, and then the line went silent.

I drew my eyebrows together, confused. Farrah never turned down chicken soup. Not when we lived together in college or even the couple years after, when we lived in the same town. She must have been feeling especially bad. Good thing her parents were around to help with her kids.

I got up, walking to Gage’s office, and knocked on the clear glass door. Not looking up from his computer, he waved me in.

“Farrah sounds awful,” I said, finally getting his attention. “I’m going to make sure the security guard at The Retreat knows to let in the furniture installer, but is there anything else you need me to do? Want me to see if Doctor Madigan can check on her?”

“You think she needs a doctor?” he asked, seeming taken aback.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those tough-it-out kind of guys. There’s nothing wrong with taking medicine when you’re sick.”

He shook his head sharply. “Tell him we’ll double our regular rate. He can see her if necessary or do a video visit, and we’ll cover the medication for whatever she’s sick with. And make sure she gets meals and hydration around the clock.”

I stared at him, confused. “You don’t know what she has? Aren’t you two constantly texting each other?”

“I’m busy today,” he said curtly, and that was my sign to go. But now I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. This partnership with Jason Romero was stressing him out like I’d never seen before. He and Jason had been in the office until well past eight o’clock Friday night, which meant I hadn’t gotten home to my place until after nine.

Not that I saw much of my apartment, always going between work and checking in on my parents where they lived in assisted living. But still, I liked to see the place I paid out the nose for from time to time.

I returned to my desk and glanced back toward Gage’s office, seeing him holding his phone to his ear, pacing back and forth in front of the window. He grimaced and then put his phone forcefully down on the table. His lips formed a string of swearwords.

Holy shit, that call must have been bad. I hadn’t seen him wound this tightly in months. Maybe he was just really worried about Farrah.

I sat down at my desk again, running through my usual list of tasks and then having Gage’s meal service deliver meals to Farrah’s place on a regular schedule for the next few days. Then I added a bouquet of dandelions for good measure, from me and Gage.

But a couple hours into the workday, my personal phone rang again, and Farrah’s mom’s number came up on the screen.

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